Charter

Charter of the Association of Public Health Professionals

Foundation

Article-1: The title name of the Association is “Association of Public Health Professionals”. The association has no branch offices.

Purpose of the association

Article-2: The purpose of the Association of Public Health Professionals is to work for protection and improvement ıf the health of everyone living in Turkey according to its field of activities and for the issues related to the development of public health expertise and to contribute to the works on these issues and ensure further development of public health professionals.

Issues of work and forms

Article-3: To achieve the purpose specified in Article 2:

To engage with national and international organizations on the subject of developing the level of knowledge on public health issues, to participate in similar activities, to support them and to obtain their support when necessary (with the permission of the competent authorities),
To support and defend the professional work of the members; to conduct research for the activation and development of activities,
To organize training activities such as courses, seminars, conferences and panels,
To provide all kinds of information, documents and publications necessary for the realization of the purpose, to create a documentation centre, to announce activities in newspapers, magazines, books and publications and to distribute to its members in accordance and to issue newsletters in line with its activities and purpose,
To purchase, sell, rent, lease and establish real rights on the immovable property required for the activities of the Association,
To engage in international activities, to become a member of associations or organizations abroad, and to perform joint works or to cooperate with these organizations on the basis of projects,
In the event it is required to realize its purpose, to carry out joint projects with public institutions and organizations in the fields of its mission without prejudice to the provisions of the law, public institutions and organizations numbered 5072 on relations of associations and foundations with public institutions and organizations,
To open representative offices with the decision of the General Assembly where deemed necessary in order to carry out the activities of the association,
To contribute to the training of the community on public health issues and consulting for organizations requesting the same,
To perform activities in order to increase training opportunities in public health issues in Turkey and abroad in order to educate members,
To organize national and international scientific meetings and to support the participation of its members in domestic and international meetings (with the permission of the competent authorities),
To solve the professional problems of the members, to improve their personal rights, to work to increase employment opportunities and to provide solidarity between the members.

Types and conditions of membership

Article-4: The Association has two types of members as principal and honorary members.

Principal Member: Medical doctors who are citizens of the Republic of Turkey and who are eligible for membership of the association and who are public health experts according to the regulation of Expertise in Medicine of the Ministry of Health, doctors who are graduates of the Faculty of Medicine and who have a doctorate in public health are elected to the membership by the decision of the board of directors
Honorary Member: Doctors who are interested in public health issues and have done scientific studies in these subjects or persons who have done valuable studies in this field shall be accepted as members of the association by the decision of the board of directors. They cannot be elected to the board of directors and they have no voting rights at the General Assembly. They can pay dues if they want. ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

Acceptance for membership

Article-5: The persons who apply to the Association as principal members shall apply to the chairman of the board in writing. These requests are examined by the board of directors and decided in the form of acceptance or rejection of the request within 30 days at the latest and announced to the applicant in writing.

Seceding membership

Article-6: Each member may leave the membership at any time by informing the board of Directors of his request to leave in writing.

Expulsion from membership

Article-7:

Those who do not comply with the decisions of the Association, act contrary to the purpose of the association and the provisions of the charter or who do not pay the membership fees for two consecutive years despite the two warnings of the board of directors, or who do not attend three consecutive General Assembly meetings without giving an acceptable excuse to the board of directors,
Those who engage in activities that offend the honour of the association and its directors, incriminate them or undermine the activities of the association,
The members who, works for the benefit or harming of any of the political parties using the name of the Association, or who create a separation between the members within the association for this reason, or who causes discrimination based on such reasons shall be dismissed from the membership of the association by the decision of the board of directors.

Members who are dismissed from membership have the right to apply to the first General Assembly against the expulsion decision.

Membership dues

Article-8: The amount of membership dues is determined at the General Assembly Meeting by the elected General Assembly of the Association, announced to members and no changes are made until the next General Assembly.

Bodies of the association

Article-9: The bodies of the Association are as follows:

The General Assembly
The Board of Directors
The Board of Auditors
Board of qualification

Article-10: The formation and functioning of the sub-bodies of the HASUDER Qualification Board, which will be established for the purpose of evaluating, crediting, equipping and organizing examinations of the education programs and process after graduation is determined by a directive.

Formation of the General Assembly and meeting time

Article-11: The General Assembly is the highest body of the association. The General Assembly consists of all members. The elected General Assembly Meeting is held once every two years in October. An extraordinary meeting shall be held in case board of directors deems it necessary or upon the written request of one fifth of the members of the Association. The Association announces one year’s activities to its members and receives their recommendations for the following year in a session of the National Public Health Congresses organized by the Association of Public Health Expertise.

General Assembly meeting place and call procedure

Article-12: The General Assembly, with ordinary elections, meets every 2 (two) years in October in Ankara or in another province to be determined by the General Assembly, at the date and time to be determined by the board of directors. The General Assembly is called to the meeting by the board of directors. The members who have the right to attend the General Assembly shall be summoned to the meeting at least fifteen days in advance by announcing the date, time, place and agenda in a newspaper or by written or electronic mail. If the meeting cannot be held because of the lack of a majority, the date, time and place of the second meeting will also be specified in this call. The period between the first meeting and the second meeting cannot be less than seven days or more than sixty days.

If the meeting is held for any reason other than the reason that the majority cannot be ensured, this situation shall be announced to the members in accordance with the call made for the first meeting by specifying the reasons for the postponement. The second meeting must be held no later than six months from the date of postponement. Members are called to the second meeting according to the principles set out in the first paragraph.

The General Assembly meeting cannot be postponed more than one time.

Quorum of the General Assembly and its procedure

Article-13: The General Assembly shall convene with an absolute majority of the members who have the right to participate for the amendment of the charter and in case the meeting is postponed due to the failure to ensure the majority, convened without seeking a majority at the second meeting. However, the number of members attending this meeting cannot be less than twice the total number of members of the management and auditor boards.

The list of the members entitled to attend the General Assembly shall be made available at the meeting place.

If the meeting quorum is ensured, the situation is determined by a minutes and the meeting is opened by the director of the board or one of the members of the board he will appoint. In the event that the quorum of the meeting cannot be ensured a minutes shall be issued by the board of directors.

Issues to be discussed at the meeting and the quorum for the decision

Article-14: Only the issues on the agenda are discussed at the General Assembly meeting. Members submit the items they wish to be included in the agenda item to the board of directors up to 15 days prior. Agenda items are created with the decision of the board of directors. It is imperative that the issues requested in writing by one-tenth of the members present at the meeting to be included in the agenda.

Duties of the General Assembly

Article-15: The duties of the General Assembly are as follows:

To choose the boards of directors and auditors
To acquit the boards of directors and auditors
To direct the works of the Association
To transfer of authority to the board of directors when necessary
To decide on the amendment of the Charter
To decide the dissolution of the Association

Board of Directors

Article-16: The Board of Directors consists of seven principal and five reserve members and elected by secret ballot by the General Assembly. The term of office is two years. In board elections, individuals can be candidate individually. Candidacy under groups is not allowed.

The election of the board of directors is made after the work or monetary situation reports of the board of directors are released. At the first meeting after the election, the board of directors elects a director, a secretary general and a treasurer from among its members.

For the place of the vacated memberships in the board of directors, the reserved member who has received the most votes during the election in the General Assembly is appointed respectively. Decisions of the board of directors are taken by majority vote.

Duties and powers of the board of directors

Article-17: The duties and powers of the Board of Directors elected at the General Assembly are as follows:

To represent the Association, when necessary to authorize president of the Association, the members of the board of directors or the association member who has expertise in that field to represent the association,
To decide on membership applications,
To prepare and apply the annual work program,
To decide whether the association should engage in international activities, join or leave associations and organizations abroad as a member,
To announce annual activities to their members at the National Public Health Congress and to receive their suggestions,
To prepare the regulations related to the activities of the Association and to present them to the General Assembly for approval,
to purchase immovable property, sell movable and immovable property belonging to the association, to build buildings or facilities, to make rental agreements, to establish pledge mortgage or real rights in favour of the association with the authority given by the General Assembly,
To prepare and spend the budget.

Internal Audit

Article-18: Internal audit can be conducted by the General Assembly or the board of directors or the auditor board or audit can be conducted by an independent audit institutions. The fact that the audit has been conducted by the General Assembly, the board of directors or independent audit institutions does not eliminate the obligation of the audit board. The board of auditors shall review the activities of the association in accordance with the principles and procedures determined in the association’s charter and at intervals not exceeding one year, and submit the results of the audit to the board of directors and to the General Assembly during meeting. Upon the request of the members of the Auditor Board, all information, documents and records must be shown or given by the authorities of the association, and the request to enter the places of administration, institutions and buildings must be allowed.

Auditor Board and its duties

Article-19: The Auditor Board is elected by secret ballot for a period of 2 years by the General Assembly as three principal and three reserve members.

When necessary, the Auditor board calls the General Assembly to a meeting.

Sources of income

Article-20: The association’s sources of income are as follows:

Membership start dues
Annual membership dues
Any donations made to the Association in cash and in-kind
Any conditional donations accepted by the Board of Directors
Income from sales of publications
Revenues from activities such as courses, seminars, congresses, exhibitions and charity sales to be carried out by the Association
Income from the projects carried out by the Association and other national and international organizations in which it does business in return
Income from the Association’s assets
Income from other activities of the Association

The revenues are collected with the receipt document and the expenses are made with the expenditure document. The receipt document contains clear identity and signature of the payers and donors.

Borrowing procedures

Article-21:

The association cannot lend to another natural or legal person and cannot give credit.
The association may borrow with the decision of the board of directors if it is needed to realize its purpose and to carry out its activities. This borrowing can be done in cash as well as in the form of purchase of goods and services with credit. However, this borrowing cannot be made in amounts that cannot be met with the income sources of the association and that would make the association difficult to

Books to be kept by the association

Article-22: The following books are kept:

a) Member registry book

b) Decision book

c) Incoming and outgoing documents registry

d) Book of income and expenses

e) Inventory book

f) Certificate of receipt registry.

Amendment of charter

Article-23: The amendment of the Charter can be made by the decision of the General Assembly.

2/3 majority of the members who have the right to attend the General Assembly is required in order to amend the charter at the General Assembly. In the event that the meeting is postponed due to the failure to ensure a majority, majority shall not be required at the second meeting. However, the number of members attending this meeting cannot be less than twice the total number of members of the management and auditor boards. ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

The majority of the decisions required for the charter amendment are 2/3 of the votes of the members who have attended the meeting and have the right to vote. The General Assembly shall vote on the amendment of the charter.

Dissolution of the association and liquidation of properties

Article-24: The General Assembly may decide to terminate the association at any time.

2/3 majority of the members who have the right to participate in the General Assembly is required in order to discuss the issue of termination at the General Assembly. In the event that the meeting is postponed due to the failure to ensure a majority, majority shall not be required at the second meeting. However, the number of members attending this meeting cannot be less than twice the total number of members of the management and auditor boards.

The majority of the decisions required for the decision to be taken are 2/3 of the votes of the members who have the right to vote. In the General Assembly, the decision to terminate is voted on openly.

Liquidation Proceedings

Liquidation of the money, property and rights of the association when the decision of the General Assembly is made to terminate by liquidation board made up of the members of the board. These operations shall begin from the date when the general rate of termination is decided or the state of termination is finalized. The term “Association of Public Health Professionals in liquidation process” is used in all operations within the liquidation period.

The liquidation board is responsible and authorized to complete the liquidation of the money, property and rights of the association from beginning to end in accordance with the legislation. This board first examines the accounts of the association. During the examination, the books, receipts, expenditure documents, title deeds and bank records and other documents belonging to the association are determined and their assets and liabilities are attached to a report. During the liquidation proceedings, creditors of the association are called and their assets, if any, are cashed and paid to creditors. If the association is a creditor, the receivables are collected. After collection of receivables and payment of debts, all remaining money, property and rights are transferred to the place determined in the General Assembly. If the place to be transferred is not determined in the General Assembly, it is transferred to the association that is closest to its purpose in the province where the association is located and has the most members on the date of termination.

All operations related to the liquidation are indicated in the liquidation minutes and the liquidation procedures are completed within three months, except for additional periods given by the administrative authorities on the basis of a justified reason.

Upon completion of the liquidation and transfer of the money, property and rights of the Association, the liquidation Board shall notify the administrative authority of the location of the association’s headquarters in a letter within seven days and the liquidation minutes shall be added to this letter.

The last members of the board of directors are responsible for keeping the books and documents of the association as the liquidation board. This duty may also be assigned to a board member. The retention period of these books and documents is five years.

Other provisions

Article-25: The law on associations, the Turkish Civil Code and the regulation on associations issued in reference to these laws and the provisions of other relevant legislation on Associations shall apply in matters not specified in this regulation.